Why gough whitlam was dismissed

The release in July of the Palace Letters —correspondence between Governor-General Kerr and Buckingham Palace—and other archival material has provided fresh insight into these events. The period of the Whitlam Government was tumultuous: the Government was elected on 2 December and returned at the 18 May double dissolution election.

The dismissal was the culmination of three years of political conflict, with the pivotal crisis occurring between 16 October and 11 November The stage for this conflict was a Parliament in which the Government did not hold the majority in the Senate.

Although focus has been on the blocking of Supply by the Opposition in the Senate in and , it was the rejection of Government bills that paved the way for the dissolution of both Houses of Parliament. This Flagpost touches on a few key events of the Whitlam Government culminating in the dismissal. It does not explore the Whitlam legacy or legal reforms.

From the its election in December the Labor government's legislative program met resistance in the Senate, where half of the membership had been elected in November and half in November In the Opposition in the Senate made the passage of money bills conditional on the Government calling an election. He was replaced by a young Paul Keating.

Whitlam refused. There followed three weeks of constitutional crisis as the parties confronted each other in Parliament and the country. The crisis raised a number of crucial questions about Australian democracy and centred on a disagreement between Whitlam and Fraser over the rights of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Whitlam asserted the primacy of the House of Representatives and his right to govern so long as he retained a majority there, whereas Fraser claimed that a government denied Supply by the Senate should resign.

This was a fundamental dispute about how we choose Governments. The conflict also highlighted the importance of constitutional conventions in the Australian system. The Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, took an active interest in the crisis, talking to both Fraser and Whitlam at various points during the period following October At one point, Fraser offered to pass Supply, provided an election was called by the middle of On November 11, , Whitlam proposed calling an immediate half-Senate election, but the Governor-General rejected this advice and instead dismissed Whitlam from office.

Later, Kerr issued a statement of reasons for the dismissal. He then called a double dissolution election. On 13 December the Labor Party was defeated in the election, and Malcom Fraser was elected prime minister. In the Australian Labor Party used a now-famous slogan as part of its election campaign.

Research this slogan and why it was so powerful. The Whitlam government is still the only Australian Government in Australian history to be dismissed by the Governor-General. Some people argue that the Governor-General, an unelected officer appointed by the Queen, should not have the power to sack a prime minister elected by the Australian people.

Others believe that Sir John Kerr made the right decision, using his constitutional powers to break the stalemate in the parliament. Theme Politics Australia as a nation. Year level Learning area Civics and citizenship. Further activities. Which three images do you think are the most important for telling this story? If you could pick only one image to represent this story, which one would you choose? In a snapshot On 11 November Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his Labor government became the first and only government in Australian history to be dismissed by the Governor-General.

This was in a letter on 6 November, his last to the palace before he dismissed Whitlam,. In a letter on 24 November, Kerr also wrote that friends had cut ties with him, believing he had conspired with Malcolm Fraser. In June , well after the dismissal, Whitlam and his wife dined with Charteris and, the next day, Whitlam had an audience with the Queen. Gough Whitlam dismissal: what we know so far about the palace letters and Australian PM's sacking.

Palace letters to be released 45 years after Australian government sensationally dismissed.